The Philadelphia 76ers are reeling a bit recently. They have lost three games in a row and four of their last five, dropping their record to 15-15 on the NBA season. Following a big victory over the Golden State Warriors last weekend, they followed it up with blowout losses against the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat and a tough loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
What makes those losses even tougher to swallow is that all three teams were missing key players, whether it be to injury or COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Granted, the 76ers aren’t at full strength either, but they feel that they missed out on opportunities to pick up some wins.
On Thursday night, their frustrations boiled over. Playing against a Nets team hammered by COVID-19, the 76ers had a golden opportunity to pick off the first-place team in the Eastern Conference.
Kevin Durant put the Brooklyn Nets on his back, scoring 34 points with 11 rebounds, eight assists and one block in 39 minutes. Philadelphia’s inability to slow him down is a big reason for the team coming away with their third straight loss, but they also have a gripe with the refereeing.
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In the fourth quarter, Brooklyn was whistled for zero fouls, while the 76ers were called for six. It was something head coach Doc Rivers felt needed to be addressed, so with three seconds remaining in the game and his team trailing by nine points, he called a timeout to let the referees know how he felt.
He walked onto the court and held up a zero, representing the number of whistles that went against the Brooklyn Nets. Doc Rivers said that the referees needed to see that, as he did it again after the final buzzer walking off the court.
He was not done addressing it, as he also spoke about it during his post-game press conference. He felt Joel Embiid should have gotten some calls down the stretch.
“I thought Joel got fouled the last three post possessions, and-ones, and none was called,” said Rivers, whose team is now 15-15 after an 8-2 start. “I don’t know how a team can play the fourth quarter of a game where we’re driving the ball and posting the ball and they have zero fouls. It’s hard to play a quarter in the NBA and commit no fouls. Very surprised by that.”
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It was a sentiment that Embiid shared with his head coach. Embiid did attempt a game-high 11 free throws, but with the game in the balance in the fourth quarter, he didn’t draw any fouls.
“I mean, they’re the home team,” said the All-Star big man, who had team bests in points (32), rebounds (9) and assists (6). “I thought we got fouled a few times, especially down there. But, I mean, it’s frustrating when they’re calling fouls for the other teams down there and you don’t get any. I can see what he (Rivers) was talking about.”
It was a disappointing night for the 76ers, who are looking for answers to help get back on track. They have not been the same since Tobias Harris and Embiid were sidelined by COVID-19 in early November after starting the season 8-2.
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With some extra off days in the schedule the next two weeks, Doc Rivers and his team will use that time to get healthy and figure out a plan to start racking up wins with regularity again.
